Here's another reason why I love GameStop: they're offering a $100 (USD) trade in bonus if you trade in an old 360 towards the purchase of the new 360 Slim. And they're offering additional trade in bonuses for accessories like hard drives, controllers and wireless adapters. www.gamestop.com/gs/landing/xb… If you trade in a console, 20 gb hard drive and controller, you'll receive a $155 credit. The new consoles have built in wi-fi, so if you have a wireless adapter you can trade it in and get an additional $40 - $50 credit! Which means you can buy the new console at almost half price! The only requirement is the trade in equipment must be in working condition and the credits must be applied towards the a new console. But still... a pretty sweet deal. This is something MS should do as an apology to every 360 owner they've ripped off since 2005. But as usual, GameStop is doing more to support the gaming community than the gaming industry itself.

Now personally... I've had enough of Microsoft and their POS 360. When my unit dies, the third I've owned since 2007, I'm finished. I will not replace it. But if you enjoy repeatedly being screwed by a mega-corporation, take advantage of the offer before it expires. Here's why: When you buy a 360, the death clock starts ticking. The console is going to fail, question is will it happen before or after the warranty expires? If you're ahem... "lucky", it will fail with a RROD or E-74 error while under warranty. MS will repair RROD and E-74 errors free of charge then extend the warranty for an additional 2 years. But read the fine print... they only extend the warranty for RROD and E-74 failures. Nothing else is covered meaning you'll pay to repair any other problems. Also, after the first failure and repair get use to sending the console back to MS for repairs every 6 to 9 months. But most consoles die after the warranty expires and when they do, MS says "f*** off". They accept no responsibility for any failures, including a RROD and E-74 error.... period. This leaves you two options. Either ship the console to MS (at your expense) and pay them $100 to repair a product they freely admit is defective. Or replace the dead unit with a new one. So it will cost you at least $100 every 6 to 9 months or a minimum of $250 for a replacement arcade console. Can you feel the love?

My advice? If you want to keep playing 360 games, take advantage of the GameStop offer if you can. Even if your console is only a few weeks or months old. Look at it this way... one way or the other, you're going to spend at least $100 on your console in the next 12 to 18 moths. You might as well do it now under much more favorable terms. You'll get a new and slightly improved console along with a new 12 month warranty. You're still getting screwed but the trade in bonus makes it slightly more tolerable. Sort of like a dominatrix kissing you on the ass right before she slams it with a paddle